Improvement in thread-cutters for sewing-machines



F. COLLINS Thread-Cutters for Sewing-Machines. No. 134,518. PatentedJam, 1973.

AM Marvin/1mm PHIL mMr/maafihfs PROCESS) UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

FREDERICK COLLINS, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

IMPROVEMENT IN THREAD-CUTTERS FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 134,518, dated January7, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fnnnnnrcn COLLINS, of Portland, in the county ofCumberland and State of Maine, have made a new and useful Inventionhaving reference to Sewing-Machines, it being an attachment or mechanismtherefor, for the purpose of enablinga person to readily sever thethread from the needle after the operation of sewing an article may havebeen performed; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully describedin the following specification and represented in the accompanyingdrawing, of which Figure 1 denotes a perspective view of a sewingmachinewith the said attachment; Fig. 2 is a top view; Fig. 3, a longitudinalsection of the attachment, the latter figure showing the movable bladeas down; and Fig. 4 represents a similar section, showing the blade asraised.

In such drawing, A denotes a small metallic box or case formed as shown,and with a slot, 8, in its top to receive the movable cuttor-lever B,and also a stationary blade or cutter, 0. The latter is fixed in theside of the slot and level or even with the upper surface of the box.The movable cutter formed with its cutting-arm like a shear-blade isarranged in theslot so as to turn on a fulcrum or pivot, The shorter armof the lever is formed or provided with a round knob or extension, I),to project from it and above the upper surface of the box, and such armis provided with a spring, d, or such a spring is arranged in the box,in manner as shown, to bear against the knobbed arm to elevate it, andas a consequence depress the cutting-arm. A stop, 0, serves to arrestthe cutting-arm when down to its lowest position. The article so made isor is to be inserted and fixed in the table. or bed f ofa'sewing-machine, D, in close proximity with the needle 6, so that aperson, after a piece of work may have been sewed, and

while he may be drawing it away from the needle with or holding it drawnaway by one hand, can press down the knob with his other hand and passthe thread under the raised blade, so as to enable such on removal ofhis hand from the knob to be forced down by the spring d, and, with thestationary blade, cut or sever the thread.

This sewin g-machine attachment does away with the necessity ofhaving apair of scissors at hand, liable to get lost or out of place whenwanted, the attachment having no projecting points to cut or tear thecloth, for when the machine is at work no part of the attachment but theknob extends above the surface of the bed or table, such knob being outof the way or path of the cloth.

The sewing-machine bed or table may be slotted or chambered so as tohold the stationary and knobbed lever-blades and the operative springand stop of the lever-blade, such rendering unnecessary the separatecase; but generally it is better to have the case removable. from andattachable to the bed or table.

I make no claim to the cutting attachment shown and described in LettersPatent No. 109,662, dated November 29, 1871, and granted to Pratt andBand, such attachment being constituted so as to be operatedautomatically by the fiy-wheel of a sewing machine.

In my attachment the spring operates to cause the movable blade to cut,it being raised by the finger of a person applied to its knob; but inthe aforesaid patented cutting attachment the spring serves a differentpurpose, and is differently arranged, Furthermore, the stationary bladeof my attachmentdoes not extend above its box or case; and I have astop, 0, which is not found in the said patented attachment.

' I claim-- I The combination of the removable box or case A, thestationary blade 0, the movable cutter-lever B, the knob b, the springd, and the stop 0, all arranged and constructed substanti ally in mannerand for adaptation to and use with a sewing-machine, D, as explained.

FRED. COLLINS.

Witnesses:

J osmn HEALD, J H. WILLIAMS.

